CHAPTER 167
White Fang finally lost consciousness completely.
Guy knew that Sakumo Hatake had merely exhausted his Chakra and overstrained his body beyond its limits. Although the injuries were severe, his life was no longer in immediate danger. With a thought, the deep green steam mixed with faint azure gradually dispersed from Guy's body. As the Fifth Gate, the Gate of Limit, closed, a powerful wave of exhaustion surged through him, causing his body to sway slightly. However, he quickly steadied himself and remained standing.
Although opening the Fifth Gate placed an enormous burden on the body, he had not maintained it for very long. Everything that had happened seemed to have stretched on endlessly, but from the moment he rushed into Ōnoki's Dust Release to rescue everyone until the end of the battle, only a few short minutes had actually passed.
The countless years of continuously cultivating the Muscle Tendon Change Classic had transformed every muscle, tendon, bone, and internal organ throughout his body. Combined with Chakra reserves that had long surpassed those of his peers, the technique displayed astonishing results at this critical moment.
Even so, Guy's expression gradually became rather strange.
Now that the battlefield had finally quieted down, he could calmly recall everything he had experienced while opening the Fifth Gate.
"It was only the Fifth Gate..."
"...yet the azure steam that should only appear after opening the Seventh Gate actually emerged?"
Guy narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
He remembered the Eight Gates Formation extremely well.
When the First through Sixth Gates were opened, the overflowing Chakra steam was normally green.
Only after opening the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, would the steam transform into the azure blue that symbolized the peak of physical power, the unmistakable color of the Blue Beast.
As for the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, the overflowing steam would become blood red as the user's life force burned away.
Yet moments earlier, he had clearly opened only the Fifth Gate.
The steam surrounding his body had already begun changing.
It was no longer purely deep green.
Instead, streaks of azure had gradually mixed into it, producing a unique blend of blue and green.
What did that mean?
It meant his body had undergone a tremendous qualitative transformation without him even realizing it.
A sudden realization surfaced in Guy's heart.
There was no doubt that this change was the result of cultivating the Muscle Tendon Change Classic every single day for the past four years.
Although he had yet to reach the next breakthrough of this supreme cultivation technique, it had continuously refined every part of his physique.
Because of that...
Even while opening only the Fifth Gate, his body had already begun displaying characteristics that normally belonged to a much higher stage.
If this trend continued...
Then perhaps after opening the Sixth Gate, the Gate of View, the Chakra steam surrounding him would become completely azure.
And...
Guy lowered his head toward the unconscious White Fang resting in his arms.
An unusually strange expression appeared on his face.
"So..."
"So that's the true One Thousand Years of Death..."
"What a terrifying technique..."
The moment he recalled the exact place where Ōnoki had been wounded, even Guy couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.
"If White Fang survives this..."
"And later teaches this technique to Kakashi..."
His mind involuntarily imagined Kakashi using that move against future opponents.
Guy instinctively shivered.
Fortunately...
Now clearly wasn't the time to think about such things.
By then, Akimichi Torifu, Orochimaru, Inuzuka Tsume, Uchiha Feiquan, and the other Konoha Shinobi had already hurried over.
Torifu personally crouched beside White Fang before carefully examining his injuries.
Several moments later, he slowly stood up.
Although his expression remained serious, the worry in his eyes had noticeably lessened.
"The severed arm is a serious injury, and his body has been pushed far beyond its limits. Fortunately, his life is no longer in danger."
A collective sigh of relief immediately spread through the surrounding Konoha Shinobi.
This hero of Konoha...
Although he had lost an arm and suffered grievous injuries...
Had survived.
Torifu slowly stood before raising his enormous hand and heavily patting Guy's shoulder.
"Well done, kid!"
His booming voice deliberately carried throughout the surrounding battlefield.
One after another, the nearby Jonin and Chunin looked toward Guy.
Although none praised him as loudly as Torifu had, nearly every one of them nodded silently.
Their eyes were filled with recognition.
Admiration.
Respect.
And surprise.
This young Shinobi named Might Guy had thoroughly engraved his name into everyone's memory through today's battle involving thousands of Shinobi.
Naturally...
Not every gaze carried the same meaning.
For example...
Orochimaru.
At this moment, Orochimaru stared at Guy with unconcealed interest.
There was even unmistakable greed hidden within those golden snake-like eyes.
Guy immediately felt goosebumps spread across his skin.
His body, which had only just begun relaxing, instinctively tensed once again.
Fortunately...
Everyone else misunderstood Orochimaru's expression.
In their eyes, it was nothing more than appreciation from one of Konoha's legendary Sannin toward an outstanding junior.
Many Shinobi even became secretly envious.
"Might Guy has actually caught Lord Orochimaru's attention."
"Being remembered by one of the Legendary Sannin..."
"I wish I had that kind of opportunity."
Guy's lips twitched slightly.
He quietly glanced toward the people speaking.
If anyone wanted that kind of attention...
He was more than willing to give it away.
He certainly wanted none of it.
Without hesitation, he deliberately shifted his gaze elsewhere, trying his best not to make eye contact with Orochimaru.
Just then...
The remaining members of the Uchiha Clan also walked over.
Throughout the battle, they had remained stationed on the outermost frontline.
In order to prevent Iwagakure from breaking through the battlefield, they had directly faced the fiercest assaults launched by the enemy.
Now...
Of the twenty two Uchiha Shinobi who had entered battle...
Only eleven remained.
Half had fallen.
Every survivor carried numerous wounds.
Even Shisui was no exception.
Several fresh injuries stained his clothes with blood.
Yet...
None of the surviving Uchiha wore expressions of despair.
Instead...
Every one of them stood proudly.
Because they knew that the Iwagakure forces confronting them had suffered even greater casualties.
They had fulfilled their responsibilities with both blood and life.
They had not disgraced the name of the Uchiha Clan.
Standing at the front, Uchiha Feiquan quietly looked toward Guy.
Concern filled his eyes.
He wanted to step forward and personally ask about Guy's condition.
However, seeing so many people already surrounding him, he hesitated before merely giving Guy a slight nod.
Shisui, on the other hand, smiled gently before walking over naturally and asking several simple questions about Guy's injuries.
Gradually...
More and more Konoha Shinobi gathered together.
The tense atmosphere that had gripped the battlefield finally disappeared completely.
This great battle had erupted suddenly.
It had ended just as suddenly.
Even before Konoha's reinforcements could arrive...
Iwagakure had already withdrawn because of the emergency in the Land of Earth.
However...
The smiles on everyone's faces lasted only briefly.
When their eyes swept across the devastated battlefield...
Silence fell once more.
Broken weapons.
Scorched earth.
And countless corpses covered the ground.
Only heavy sighs echoed throughout the battlefield.
Torifu forcefully composed himself before immediately beginning to issue orders.
Everyone still capable of moving immediately started cleaning the battlefield.
Some searched desperately among the fallen for comrades who still possessed even the faintest trace of life.
Others carefully collected the bodies of the dead, confirmed their identities, and organized their remaining belongings.
After an emergency count...
The casualty report was finally delivered to Akimichi Torifu.
Looking silently at the report...
Even this veteran commander, who had survived countless wars, couldn't stop his hands from trembling slightly.
This battle had begun with three thousand five hundred Konoha Shinobi.
One thousand two hundred eighty three had died.
Three hundred forty suffered severe injuries.
As for lightly wounded soldiers...
There were simply too many to count.
Nearly everyone had been injured.
Meanwhile...
Iwagakure had abandoned over fifteen hundred corpses upon the battlefield.
Within only a few hours...
Nearly three thousand Shinobi from both sides had lost their lives.
Such concentrated casualties were extraordinarily rare even since the outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War.
This battlefield had truly become a merciless meat grinder.
A genuine battle involving thousands of Shinobi.
Nevertheless...
Konoha had won.
Despite facing superior numbers, they had successfully repelled Iwagakure's desperate offensive and forced the enemy into retreat.
More importantly...
Judging from the scale of that retreat...
It wasn't merely a temporary tactical withdrawal.
Iwagakure had completely abandoned the battlefield in the Land of Rice Fields.
Their entire army was urgently returning to defend the Land of Earth against Kumogakure.
That meant...
For the foreseeable future...
No large scale Iwagakure forces would remain within the Land of Rice Fields.
Konoha had become the only great military power occupying this region.
Torifu felt both grief over the heavy losses...
And relief over the hard won victory that had secured such an important strategic opportunity.
"The next priority..."
"...is allowing the troops to recover."
"Then we'll consolidate our defenses."
"The entire Land of Rice Fields must become Konoha's eastern defensive line."
Just as that thought settled in his mind...
"Screech!"
A sharp eagle's cry suddenly echoed across the sky.
Everyone instinctively looked upward.
A messenger hawk belonging to Konoha's Intelligence Division rapidly descended from the distant sky.